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The government on Wednesday dropped the drunk driving and reckless driving charges against Bruce Springsteen following an incident in November, admitting that the rocker’s blood alcohol level was so low it did not warrant the accusations.
Springsteen pleaded guilty to a third charge, consuming alcohol in a closed area, the Gateway National Recreation Area. Better known as Sandy Hook, it is a peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean overlooking the New York skyline.
Facing a judge and over 100 spectators on a video conference, Springsteen sat next to attorney Mitchell Ansell and admitted he knew it was illegal to consume alcohol in the park .
“I had two little shots of tequila,” Springsteen said in response to questions from a deputy US attorney. The case was heard in federal court because the park is considered federal land.
U.S. Magistrate Anthony Mautone fined Springsteen $ 500 for the offense, plus $ 40 in court costs.
“I think I can pay for this immediately, Your Honor,” Springsteen told Mautone.
In an emailed statement, Ansell wrote that Springsteen “is satisfied with the outcome” of the court hearing.
According to a probable cause document drafted by the park police at the time of the incident, Springsteen told a park officer he had fired twice in the previous 20 minutes, but would not pass a test preliminary breath before his arrest. Mautone said on Wednesday that the preliminary test was not required and was not admissible in court.
When he took a breath test at the park ranger station, Springsteen’s blood alcohol level dropped to 0.02, a quarter of the legal limit in New Jersey, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The officer wrote that he saw Springsteen take a picture of tequila and then get on his motorcycle. The officer wrote that the rocker “smelled strongly of alcohol” on November 14 and “had glassy eyes” and that there was a bottle of Patron tequila that was “completely empty”.
The report describes Springsteen as “visibly swaying back and forth” during a field field sobriety test and says he refused to provide a sample during an initial breath test.
After news of the arrest, Jeep paused a Super Bowl commercial with Springsteen in Kansas, urging people to find common ground. In a statement, Jeep said it would suspend advertising “until the actual facts can be established.”
Springsteen performed Jan. 20 as part of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, singing “Land of Hope and Dreams” in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
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